I returned to work to find my 'mesk' looking like this....
And then the news of the Christchurch earthquake struck on my first day back. It was felt here on the West Coast, but not as badly as the first quake in September. Having two sons and an 86 year old mother-in-law in the city there was a bit of anxious waiting to confirm where the damage was and where they were.
My eldest son was walking down a stairwell at his work, stopped on a shaking landing and then the power went off leaving him in the dark. As soon as the shaking stopped he was out of the building, work was stopped and he trekked an hour home as obviously there were no buses. He said it was an interesting experience with constant shakes, walking around piles of rubble, and avoiding silt spilling out of the ground. Several days on he has power, but still no water, although there is a water tanker not too far away. His flat is not damaged and he has had a visit from Red Cross checking his street which is off Colombo Street, and providing leaflet information on various services. Amazing that they are doing a house to house in the area to check on people which is great. Physically fine, it is the logistics of things which will be a problem - no transport and the nearest open supermarket was 90 minutes walk away. Others are now beginning to open up. His flatmates have fled to places where the ground does not move, so lack of company is also a factor.
Youngest son got under a table at work and then set off for home on his bike. His flatmates are staying around and they have a bolthole offered out of Christchurch if they wish. Being in Riccarton they only suffered things falling off shelves, and have both power and water back on, but obviously few shops open at this stage.
Mother-in-law, in her own unit in a retirement village, is determined to stay put and not come to stay with us. In fact she will not even go out shopping when offered a chance. They had water on, but it is now off again. The village has a water tanker and portaloos (which she will not use so guess her garden will be well fertilised this year!). The Oxford Terrace Baptist Church which she has attended most of her life, and which had its frontage badly damaged in the last quake, is now reported to be a pile of rubble.
Today my husband is making a mercy dash and will go round the outskirts of Christchurch, staying well away from the centre, to check on all three and take supplies. Eldest son needs his father's bike for transport, plus a supermarket shop where he doesn't have to carry heavy loads; youngest just needs checking on as he has suffered panic attacks in the past, but still has flatmates for company this time; mother-in-law needs the food she will not go out and shop for, so is getting supplies plush fresh veges from our garden.
Thank goodness it is less than three hours drive from here. Hubby has strict instructions (which he will ignore) about keeping himself safe. Hopefully he will return safely later tonight.
In the meantime it has started raining here. I hope it hasn't in Christchurch as the rescue and recovery efforts do not need it. I am about to catch up on housework which I always complain about, but not today. At least I have a house to clean unlike many devastated people over the hill.
No comments:
Post a Comment